The Shoe Thief

When all your life you have been craving for an elder sibling, God finally gets tired of your prayers and sows the seeds of sisterhood in the heart of a person living miles away, someone whose existence you are not even aware of – how do you process so much? She just walks in one day and does not budge- from my heart I mean. The acceptance that there could indeed be bonds like this, came late. Once it did, we both realized what we have is something special, irreplaceable and inexplicable. We may take breaks and hide from the entire world, but not from each other. If ever there is a term sister of the heart, she is mine.

Today I have her, my Meena, who once used to be a prolific blogger but is now taking a break to look after a naughty bundle of energy.

Over to you, Meens.

Bhavs… My sister from another mother. My own Ishithaa…. “Bhavimma” as my two year old calls her.
There are relations that are inexplicable – They do not understand the logic of time or distance. How else do I explain the fact that as my little man flips through the pages of his favorite book “Smart Aunties” (Nick Sharatt – Have you seen his illustrations? They are beautiful) – one of the first ones he associates it with is “Bhavimma” (somebody is going to get his ears boxed – look at the image he associated with “Bhavimma”). All this when he has seen her for maybe 2 days in his entire life!

Parenting must be one of life’s most heartwarming journeys. It also more often than not makes you bite the humble pie. Here I was, giving as much time as I could to my little man. We have beautiful days filled with story books, wooden toys, splish-spashing in water and visits to park! Ha! the perfect recipe to raise a well-rounded individual; – or so I thought.

But I forget every child is born with their own personality. People are astounded at the amount of time my little man can sit with his books, Cooking-sets (dosa anybody!) and “play”(everything from SCRIBBLING to solving puzzles is “play” for him).

But take him to the park and he will refuse to budge from his swing. Slides and monkey bars are not meant for him – he has to be coaxed to get on to them. He is instead happier shoveling mud with his scooper or collecting dried twigs and fallen flowers. When I look at other kids pushing and shoving on the slides, I for a moment wish my son was more like them – until I firmly tell myself that I know better than to give into such thinking! But make no mistake – he has a very determined mind of his own…

Now all of this is all hunky dory, but somebody please tell me how do I get rid of this fascination for shoes that my little man has. I have a husband who has a shoe stand overflowing with his own pair of footwear – another one in the family will be enough to push my sanity levels. A walk down the corridor or even a visit to next-door is a chance for him to shamelessly try on their shoes and bring them back home! I have on more than one occasion knocked on my neighbors’ door to return their shoes

One thing I am glad about though is his inherited love for cooking from his dad! This boy can spend hours supervising you cook and “cooking time” is his favorite hour of the day! Am just waiting for few more years before I pass on the cooking mantle to son and dad

Before I sign off, here is what my litman was up to today. He was walking all over the house with two steel bowls and asking for one of it to be filled with water. Transferring water from a bowl to another is his favorite pastime. To his credit, he is not as clumsy as yours truly but given the zero impulse control they have at this age, it doesn’t take much for the entire glass of water to reach the floor! So of course, nobody entertained his request for water. The next thing we know, he goes to a corner, pulls down his pants and pees peacefully into one of those bowls. And then gleefully unperturbed, continues to play

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Author: Bhavya

Writing to me is therapy, it frightens and comforts at the same time. Liberates like nothing else. A book in my own name is a dream, but a bigger dream would be to write something that haunts the reader even after the last page is turned and the book is shut. I enjoy reading and music, spending time with family whilst battling my social awkwardness.
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He sounds clever and adorable! Be THRILLED that he can so easily entertain himself – most parents would be glad of that. And what child doesn’t like trying on shoes, especially adult shoes? Be glad, too, that he has a mind of his own. Pushing others around on the slides and monkey bars is an overrated pastime, and one you and his teachers will tear your hair out over in a few years. He has inner resources. Nurture them! 🙂 I’m sure you do, already. He looks like a happy little guy, surrounded by love.Holly Jahangiri’s latest…A Taste of Home for the Next Generation (Interview with Sapna Anu George)